Dr Selma Karuaihe participated in the "Informal Settlements and Sustainable Urban Development: Towards a more inclusive urban agenda" webinar hosted by the Swedish University of Agriculture. 

With the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, ambitions to achieve sustainable urbanization are high. However, uneven development process and weak governance coupled with rapid urbanization and the dynamics of environmental change is driving the growth of informal settlements across the globe, with an estimated 25% of the world’s population living informally. Informal settlements and their activities exist outside of regulatory, planning and policy processes, meaning that limited access to land rights, basic services and city infrastructure increase the vulnerability of already marginalized populations. Moreover, the goals and objectives in urban development prioritize formal structures and practices, raising the question of how inclusive agendas for sustainable urban development actually are.

The speakers for this discussion included:

• Dr Selma Karuaihe - Senior Lecturer at University of Pretoria, South Africa & President of African Association of Environmental and Resource Economists & Associate Coordinator: South African SDG Hub 
• Donovan Storey – Head of Global Policy and Influence, Reall
• Johan Enqvist –  Researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre (Stockholm University) and African Climate & Development Initiative (University of Cape Town)
• Paola Ledo - Researcher at Department of Urban and Rural Development, SLU

For Dr Karuaihe, the main takeaway from the discussion was that the challenges of the urban poor remain a global challenge that has seen very little progress over the last few years, and requires attention from policymakers and global leaders alike. 

You can watch the full webinar here.